General Spacecraft Classifications
Text. 'Warship' (Main Banner) A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. As well as being armed, warships are typically designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuverable than other vessels. Warships have on occasion been used to carry troops and supplies. 'Carrier' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' A carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering fighters, acting as a mobile base for small spacecraft. Carriers are vital to almost any combat situation, especially against other ships, as fighters are much more maneuverable than most ship classes which tend to be much larger and difficult to make sharp turns with. Carriers do not tend to fare well in atmospheric conditions, though fighters often do, and tend to rely on their fighters for offense and defense though they are equipped with basic weapons and defenses. Carriers tend to have a medium, only slightly sluggish, speed when traveling between systems, do not have any stealth capabilities, and have mild sensors. 'Cruiser/Destroyer' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' The line between cruisers and destroyers has long been blurred, as a result the two are typically seen as being relatively the same. A cruiser or a destroyer is a type of warship that tends to be a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended for independent scouting, raiding, commerce protection, planetary bombardment, defense against fighters, and to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attacks. Cruisers and destroyers tend to have strong offensive capabilities, fair defenses, and fair maximum speeds but have little stealth capabilities and mild sensors. 'Frigate' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' A frigate is a warship used to protect other warships and merchant ships, especially as anti-stealth warfare combatants for vacuum expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups, and merchant convoys. Frigates tend to also be equipped for both planetary assaults and defending against fighters. Frigates tend to be reasonable at offense and defense and capable of a medium maximum speed with little stealth capabilities and mild sensors. 'Corvette' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship typically used for system defense though sometimes included in offensive conflicts or stealth reconnaissance. A corvette is typically fast, has mild offensive and defensive capabilities, fair stealth capabilities, and fair sensors. 'Missile Boat' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' A missile boat is a small warship armed with anti-ship missiles which can be especially effective against almost all other ships. Missile Boats have exceptional offensive capabilities, fair defensive capabilities, fair maximum speeds, no stealth capabilities, and mild sensors. 'Fighter' Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' Fighters tend to be small, maneuverable, fast, well-equipped spacecraft especially effective at fighting large and medium sized ships. Fighters fare well in almost any setting, including atmospheric combat situations. Fighters tend to have decent offensive capabilities, weak defensive capabilities, exceptional speeds, fair stealth capabilities, and mild sensors. 'Information & Resources' (Main Banner) Information and resource vessels are those with the mission of gathering information, exploring, and/or utilizing or retrieving resources These vessels are not typically armed or, if so, are poorly so, do not typically have very decent defensive capabilities, and are in no way designed for combat situations. 'Science/Medical' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' Science and medical ships are those vessels geared more towards the primary goal of scientific research, exploration, or supplying medical aid to other ships or worlds. Science and medical ships have no offensive capabilities, limited defensive capabilities, no stealth capabilities, exceptional sensors, and tend to achieve decent maximum speeds. 'Scout/Surveillance/Stealth' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' Scouts, surveillance ships, and stealth ships are vessels designed to be quick, small, stealthy, and well equipped to handle reconnaissance- and some basic exploration-oriented missions. These ships have limited offensive and defensive capabilities, fair maximum speeds, exceptional stealth capabilities, and decent sensors. 'Construction/Repair' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' Construction and repair vessels are those tasked with constructing new structures or vessels as well as repairing damaged space structures and vessels. Construction and repair vessels have no offensive or defensive capabilities, sluggish speeds, no stealth capabilities, and limited sensors. These vessels are not designed for any form of combat scenario and are typically escorted by a corvette, frigate, cruiser, or destroyer as defense. 'Resource Extraction' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' Resource extraction vessels are any vessels designed to extract resources of any value of any useful form, whether it be collecting gas from nebulas, mining asteroids, planetary operations, so on and so forth. Resource extraction vessels have no offensive or defensive capabilities, sluggish speeds, no stealth capabilities, and fair sensors. These vessels are not designed for any form of combat scenario and are typically escorted by a corvette, frigate, cruiser, or destroyer as defense, though there have been cases of some using their lasers intended for asteroid mining or destruction to fend off poorly armed Pirate vessels. 'Logistics' (Main Banner) Logistics vessels are those whose missions are oriented towards managing the flow of resources and moving or managing assets, sometimes this including the transport of people or, in the case of the minesweeper, working to protect assets and the flow of resources outside of a combat situation. These ships are not typically meant to be involved in combat situations, though some may have some basic offensive and defensive capabilities; many will often need to be escorted by warships. 'Transport' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' A transport is a ship used to carry large numbers of soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime, which typically hold the capability to land troops directly onto a planet, launch them down from orbit, or board other vessels once their defenses have been weakened or disabled. A transport has few offensive capabilities, limited defensive capabilities, fair maximum speeds, little stealth capabilities, and fair sensors. 'Minesweeper' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' A minesweeper is a small warship designed to counter the threat posed by mines, whether they be free-floating or relatively stationary in space or be atmospheric. Minesweepers can be important to keeping travel paths clear and clearing paths for other military vessels; minesweepers, while rarely encountered with this situation, do have the capacity to remove mines floating/flying within an atmosphere (with severe limitations in more corrosive atmospheres or with gas giants). Minesweepers tend to be fairly sluggish, have poor offensive capabilities, limited defensive capabilities, mild stealth capabilities, and exceptional sensors. 'Support' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' A support ship is a non-combat vessel with the sole purpose of helping supply vessels, stations, and worlds with fuel, ammunition, weapons, parts, etc. Support ships have no offensive capabilities, few defensive capabilities, great maximum speeds, few stealth capabilities, and mild sensors. These vessels are not designed for any form of combat scenario and are typically escorted by a corvette, frigate, cruiser, or destroyer or stick with a fleet, convoy, or battle group as defense. 'Command' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' Command ships serve as the flagships of the commander of a fleet, providing communications, office space, and accommodations for a fleet commander and their staff and serve to coordinate fleet activities. Command ships have limited offensive capabilities, fair defensive capabilities, fair speeds, limited stealth capabilities, and decent sensors. 'Tug' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' A tug or tugboat is a non-combat ship that maneuvers vessels, ships which should not move themselves (such as ships in a crowded harbor/planetary orbit or narrow asteroid field) or ships which cannot move by themselves (typically those that are critically damaged), by pushing or towing them. Tugs have no offensive or defensive capabilities, minor speeds, no stealth capabilities, and limited sensors. These vessels are not designed for any form of combat scenario and are typically escorted by a corvette, frigate, cruiser, or destroyer as defense. 'Freighter' Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' A freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port, base, or station to another. Freighters have no offensive capabilities, very limited defensive capabilities, sluggish speeds, no stealth capabilities, and minor sensors. These vessels are not designed for any form of combat scenario and are typically escorted by a corvette, frigate, cruiser, or destroyer as defense. 'Colony' (Banner) Cost: ''# Ship Credits'' A colony ship is a non-combat ship which transports various colonists and necessary equipment to settle an uninhabited world or uninhabited region of an inhabited world. A colony ship will typically have no offensive or defensive capabilities, sluggish speeds, no stealth capabilities, and poor sensors. Colony ships on short-range missions may find themselves escorted by a corvette, frigate, cruiser, destroyer, or even a fleet, convoy, or battle group though in many cultures colonists often embark on their mission with the acknowledged fact they are likely to be on their own for much of the trip and much of the initial process of settling their destination world. Category:SAP1